Five easy ways to become a net fo~ There's nothing quite like the feeling of satisfaction knocking off a volley winner. It's fast, it's quick, and it's also good for a quick boost in confidence. The volley winner is to tennis what the fast-break lay-up is to basketball. While hitting a volley is simple in terms of mechanics, it still has its challenges, especially if you want to climb to the next competitive level. Here are five keys to becoming a victorious volleyer: 1) Back off the backswing.
Unlike a groundstroke, a backswing isn't necessary to hit a winning volley and in most cases is impossible to pull off considering that the ball is coming at you faster than any ball you will encounter on a tennis court .. 2) Forget the follow through.
Since there is no backswing, no follow through is required either. After all, the only purpose of the follow through is to allow the racket room to decelerate, just like an airplane landing needs a long enough runway to slow down and come to a stop. A helicopter, on the other hand, only needs a small patch of turf to land. Hitting a volley is akin to landing a helicopter. 3) Get a gripand stick with it.
There are two schools of thought on volley grips. One advocates holding a continental grip and making no change
whatsoever; the other allows for a slight change from forehand to backhand volley to give a player more strength on high backhand volleys. Whichever camp you fall into, one thing is for sure: If you're going to be an effective volleyer, forget major grip changes at the net. 4) Mind your midcourt and low volleys.
All experienced players know that midcourt and low volleys are difficult. Two reasons. On mid court volleys, players think they have to swing more and therefore lose control of the ball. The real solution is a slight lengthening of the stroke, but not to the point where it even remotely resembles a full swing. And, on low volleys, players tend to drop their racket head by relaxing their wrists, instead of lowering their playing height and keeping the racket at close to 90 degrees relative to the forearm. 5) Volley with your feet.
This will sound funny to many, but it is another key to solid play at the net. Many players make the mistake of standing flatfooted at the net. I remember one of my coaches telling me that "a flatfooted tennis player at the net is like a boxer just before getting knocked out." Since your racket, arm, and hand position is relatively constant on the volley, the feet
are the major variable. Depend upon them to get you into position and you will become a better volleyer in seconds. Reading tips in a magazine is only the beginning of becoming a better volleyer. Some studies in motor learning and sports show that the use of visual and kinesthetic aids, like the ones shown here, not only accelerates the learning process but also increases the retention of those acquired skills more than verbal instructions. In other words, "Tell me and I will struggle, give me an image and I will remember, but give me a feel and I will succeed." Whether you go to a local hardware store and get creative in your garage making your own aids, or invest in training aids from a tennis company, our suggestion is to use tools to help you get better faster whenever possible. After all, the faster you experience success, the more enthusiastic you will become about continuing to improve. Key #1 and Key #2
No backswing and no follow through. Key #3
Control your grip. Key #4
Keep the wrist solid on low and midcourt volleys. Key #5
Volley with your feet.
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Joe Dinoffer is a USPTA Master Pro and PTR Professional and has conducted clinics and exhibitions in over 50 countries.
to reckon with
Key #3 To help players get a better feel for the right grips on volleys
or any other shot, Velcro systems like the Grip Doctor can fix problems in minutes.
Key #4 To help players get the feel for keeping the racquet head above the wrist, you can improvise by tying a string between the throat of the racquet and your forearm. Just make it tight enough so the racquet head stays up (angled about 90 degrees to your forearm). Another option is the Volley Doctor, a very user-friendly apparatus specifically designed to meet this challenge.
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